HARKIN HONORED FOR WORK TO END EXPLOITATIVE CHILD LABOR
Feb 4, 2009, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C
Event coincided with opening of “Faces of Freedom” photography exhibit
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Senator Harkin examines one of the photographs in the exhibit with Kailash Satyarthi. Satyarthi is the Founder of Rugmark, and Chairperson of the Global March Against Child Labor |
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D- IA) was recognized yesterday for his leadership in fighting exploitative child labor practices at the opening of the “Faces of Freedom” photography exhibit sponsored by RugMark. The photography exhibit contained photos taken by U. Roberto Romano that depict children who were forced to weave rugs in India, Nepal and Pakistan. Harkin has been a longtime leader in ending the most abusive forms of child labor.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to receive this award and to have the opportunity to view this exhibit” said Harkin, a longtime RugMark board member. “The photography displayed here is a vivid example of why we, as a nation, must take a principled stand against child labor.”
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United States: Child labor law crackdown
Melissa Dart, January 22, 2009 - 4:56PM
A child labor law crackdown at three south Florida malls leads to more than
50-thousand dollars in fines. Investigators from the U.S. Labor Department
visited three South Florida malls. They visited 19 stores, restaurants, and
movie theaters located at Dolphin Mall in Miami, Sawgrass Mills Mall in Fort
Lauderdale, and The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens. Inspectors say they
found 50 minors being allowed by management to operate hazardous equipment,
such as trash compactors and paper balers. In all, seven employers are being
fined a total of $53,271. A representative for The Gardens Mall emailed us
this statement: "we do not employee anyone under the age of 18 as standard
operating practices. We strongly encourage our retailers to do the same and
when we see any potential safety violations, we report them to store personnel".
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Bangladesh Ship Breaking Industry: 7,000 child laborers doing hazardous job
The Daily Star, Staff Correspondent, January 29, 2009
Nearly a quarter of the total workforce in the ship-breaking industry in Chittagong is child laborers who are primarily used for the more hazardous jobs at the yards, a survey of two NGOs revealed this yesterday.
Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) and International Federation for Human Rights (Fidh) in the jointly prepared report, with technical support of NGO Platform on Ship Breaking, said at least 7,000 workers in the industry are below the age of 18.
Around 30,000 workers are employed in the ship-breaking yards of Chittagong.
Mohammad Ali Shahin, YPSA official and focal person of NGO Platform on Ship Breaking, while publishing the report at Dhaka Reporters Unity said, "Children are primarily used for cleaning toxic wastes including asbestos, black oil and PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) in tanks of ships which often have poisonous gases too."
He said, "Deaths and serious injuries caused by suffocation and explosion are regular phenomena at the yards."
Of the child laborers, around 15 to 20 percent are aged below 15 while 10 percent are below 12 years, said Shahin adding that ship breaking is one of the most hazardous and dangerous jobs in the world according to the International Labor Organisation (ILO).
Since ship-breaking yards are restricted and often inaccessible, they survey was based on counting laborers on the ground and interviews, he said.
The Labor Law of 2006 is being violated at the yards blatantly. The laborers work without any safety gears and handle toxic substances with their bare hands. They neither have any job contracts nor health insurances, he said.
According to the ILO, a person is a child if the age is below 18 years. The Children Act 1974 of Bangladesh says that a person is a child if the age is below 16. However, Bangladesh Labor Law, 2006, says that a person is a child if his or her age is below 14.
The ship-breaking yards employ child laborers so that they can get away with paying very low wages, said Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of rights organization Odhikar, which was present at the Dhaka Reporters Unity.
Bangladesh ratified the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999, of ILO and is obligated to take immediate measures prohibiting and eliminating the worst forms of child labor.
The report quoted Factory Inspector Farid Ahmed of Inspection Department for Factories and Establishment as saying, "I have not seen any children or teenagers at the yards. We should have some of them checked by a doctor [to determine their age]."
Chief guest of the program Prof Muzaffer Ahmad, chairman of Transparency International Bangladesh, said untreated toxic substances cleared from scrapped ships are causing severe water and air pollution which is destroying marine aquatic life and the fascinating coast line of Bangladesh.
Scrap-ships which have toxic wastes in them are procured mainly from European countries, said an YPSA official. According to the Basel Convention, trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste is forbidden. Scrap-ships can be brought and dismantled only after proper decontamination.
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Thailand: Child Labor Widespread in Delta
Friday, January 23, 2009, The Irrawaddy News Magazine
Child labor has become widespread throughout the cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy delta, according to sources in the region.
A member of a non-governmental organization in the delta who requested anonymity said that children aged 10 to 15 are valued sources of labor for Burmese businessmen, fishermen and farmers, because they work for much lower wages then adults—between 300 and 1000 kyat (US $0.25—0.85) per day for children, compared to wages of 1,500 to 3000 kyat ($1.25—$2.50) per day for adults.
“Many fishing boat owners now prefer to hire children because of the difference in wages. Kids are willing to work for 300 kyat and meals,” he said.
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Mending nets instead of studying at the school. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) |
Sources said that businesspeople in the delta also see children are easier to control and hard-working. Nowadays, children as young as eight can be found working on fishing boats, in restaurants, construction sites and with agriculture.
Myo Min lost his mother when Cyclone Nargis slashed through southwestern Burma on May 2-3. He now lives with his brother and works full-time aboard a fishing vessel in the delta.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy, 10-year-old Myo Min said, “I’m tired, but I’m just grateful to be able to survive.”
Po Po, 11, lost his father and his elder brother in the cyclone. He then left school to work in a restaurant in Labutta Township. He washes dishes and earns about 5,000 kyat ($4.20) per month.
He admitted that he cries every night because he misses his mother.
According to a schoolteacher in Konegyi village in Labutta Township, many children are unable to continue their education because they are orphans or live with families that are struggling economically.
An estimated 400,000 children did not return to school after the cyclone, according to leading relief agency Save the Children Fund. Of those, Save the Children said they helped about 100,000 children get back to school.
The INGO estimated that about 40 percent of the 140,000 people who were killed or disappeared in the cyclone disaster were children. Many who survived were orphaned or separated from their parents, the agency said.
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India: Aamir Khan to endorse anti-child labor campaign for Maharashtra Government
SamayLive India, January 30, 2009
Mumbai, Jan 30: It seems that Bollywood Mr Perfectionist, Aamir Khan, has became obvious choice for the government to promote its social campaigns.
After being the Centre's brand ambassador against harassment of foreign tourists, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan is likely to promote Maharashtra government's campaign against child labor.
The state has decided to utilise Khan's appeal among children after the runaway success of his film 'Taare Zameen Par' and may rope in the actor as brand ambassador for its campaign against child labor.
"The Labor Department has approached Aamir Khan and requested him to be a part of the campaign to abolish child labor in the state," a senior official from the department told reporters.
"We have written to Aamir and are confident of a positive reply soon. Aamir is very popular among children after his movie Taare Zameen Par and we thought he would do justice to the campaign," the official said.
The campaign is a part of child labor policy being prepared by the government. The policy includes creating awareness among people, bringing the children in mainstream and giving them vocational as well as school education.
"Awareness is the main issue since the state already has a legislation against child labor. Keeping in mind the labor coming from outside the state, other aspects like education and rehabilitation have been included in the policy," the official said.
The government has also talked with UNICEF and NGOs for running the campaign, the official added.
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India: SC seeks report on child labor from NHRC
Press Trust Of India
The Supreme Court on Friday sought a comprehensive report from the NHRC on steps taken by the state governments to eradicate bonded and child labor.
A bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam asked NHRC to assist in the matter after it was informed that the rights body in 2004 was asked to monitor the development in this regard.
Senior advocate A K Ganguly, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae (friend of court) in the matter, said the PIL on the issue was disposed of on May 5, 2005 with a direction that the NHRC would monitor steps taken by the state government.
He informed the court about the history of litigation on the matter and said earlier the Labor Ministry had identified 14 states as vulnerable to the problem and the figure has now increased to 16.
The Bench initially was of the opinion that the issue could be brought before the concerned High Courts if effective measures were not undertaken by the state government.
However, when Ganguly said he could not do much in this regard as he was only assisting the apex court on the issue, the Bench asked the NHRC to file a comprehensive report.
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Child laborers in Gujarat from Bihar
February 2, 2009
Gujarat Global News Network, Surat
Labor Department has rescued eight child laborers from Bihar working in a zardozi unit in Surat. The Labor department officials carried out a raid on the first floor of a building at Muglisara, opposite the police station.
The officials said the children worked for nearly 12 hours for Rs 200 per week. The rescued child laborers were later send to a childrens’ home at Katargam. The officials also arrested the owner of the unit, Mujib Shaikh.
Assistant Labor Commissioner Kirit Patel said, “In most of our raids, we have found that children from Purnia and neighbouring districts in Bihar are brought to Surat for such work. These children were brought to Surat and were kept locked in a room from morning till evening. Later, they were starved and forced to do work.”
One of the officials first visited the building to find out the presence of child laborers. Afterwards, the entire team rushed in and eight children, between 10 and 12 years, were rescued.
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Dhoomdas Honor to End Child Slavery In India
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Click image for Slide Show |
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27 January 2009, New Delhi: Honoring Dhoomdas, the first martyr of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA or Save the Childhood Movement) BBA awarded the Dhoomdas Honor to seven individuals for their notable contributions to end child slavery, bondage and trafficking in their respective fields this Tuesday in an award ceremony in New Delhi. Justice Dr. M. K. Sarma of the Supreme Court of India was the Chief Guest and presented the Dhoomdas Honor. Those honored were Dr. L. D. Mishra, Special Rapporteur of the National Human Rights Commission and former Labor Secretary of Union Government, Member of Parliament from Lakhimpur Kheri Shri. Ravi Prakash Verma, Chairperson of Delhi Women’s Commission and MLA from Delhi Smt. Barkha Singh, Director General of CRPF Dr. P. M. Nair (IPS), Bihar Child Labor Commission Chairperson Shri. Ramdev Prasad, businessman and handicraft promoter from Jaipur Shri. Dileep Baid and Senior Journalist Smt. Jaya Shroff.
Introducing the Dhoomdas Honor, Shri. Kailash Satyarthi, founder of BBA and Chairperson Global March Against Child Labor said, “Dhoomdas, my beloved friend was snatched away from us trying to save children from servitude, bondage and trafficking. This award is to appreciate the efforts done by our distinguished friends and colleagues from various other fields to make this country a better place for children and securing their childhood.”
Shri. Akbar Ali, judge and member Secretary National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) relayed the message of the Honorable Chief Justice of India Justice Dr. K. G. Balakrishnan to the gathering. Speaking on behalf of the Honorable Chief Justice of India K. G. Balakrishnan and Justice Arijit Pasayat, he said, “I want to reiterate the promise that the Honorable Chief Justice made to the children on 14 November 2008, that whoever writes or complains to the CJI on any child labor issue even on a postcard, such a letter would be considered as a writ petition and the matter taken up.” He said that child labor elimination was a prime agenda and the judiciary would give its full weight behind this. He further reiterated NALSA’s commitment to work with BBA to rescue, rehabilitate and repatriate child victims of labor and trafficking, and provide free legal aid.
Justice Dr. M. K. Sarma, of the Supreme Court and the Chief Guest of the ceremony in his address said, “The nation requires a movement to end child labor and BBA is that movement” and lauded the contributions of the Dhoomdas Honorees. He recalled that during his tenure as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court on a writ petition by BBA on child labor rescue and rehabilitation he had ordered the Delhi Government that the responsibility for rescue and rehabilitation of child laborers was their and can not be shed on to the NGOs.
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Activists accuse Uzbek education official of lying about child labor
Uznews.net – Tashkent human rights activists are indignant at Uzbek Deputy Education Minister Rustam Ahliddinov’s statement that Uzbekistan does not use child labor during cotton-harvesting campaigns and intend to sue him.
The Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan has received the deputy minister’s answer to its inquiry about the en-masse use of children during the cotton-harvesting campaign in 2008.
In his written response, Ahliddinov claimed that Uzbekistan had joined UN conventions on children’s rights, which is why all education officials in the country had been warned about a ban on using forced child labor.
As a result, he said, “children in Uzbekistan have not been subject to forced labor”.
Rights activist Yelena Urlayeva said that the deputy minister’s answer was nothing but deliberate lie that had nothing to do with reality.
“Telling lies has become part of Uzbekistan’s government policy,” she said. “Everything is covered in lies, so we do not even know what to start with.”
However, she said that they knew what to do with this particular case and wanted to address it.
Human rights activists want to sue the official and will be discussing this matter with their lawyer.
Uzbekistan is the world’s second largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer. The cotton industry is strategic for the country because it raises about $1bn a year for its rulers.
However, the government does not want to invest this money in modernising the cotton industry. The situation is complicated by the country’s failure to maintain the level of mechanisation of the industry achieved in Soviet times during 17 years of independence.
This forces the government to use child labor to pick cotton.
Fearing an international boycott of Uzbek cotton because of using child labor, in 2008 Uzbekistan signed UN conventions relating to children’s rights. However, when the cotton-harvesting campaign started it forgot about its obligations and sent children to cotton fields.
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Watch confirmation hearing of Labor Secretary designate Rep Hilda Solis (D-CA)
One day after Pres.-Elect Obama's speech on the economy and job growth, Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-CA) appeared at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Cmte. hearing to confirm her as Secretary of Labor. Congresswoman Solis is serving her fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Click on the Image
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Asia must act to prevent growth in child labor: expert
January 9, 2009
SINGAPORE (AFP) — Asia must act quickly to prevent millions of children dropping out of school to go to work as the global economic crisis worsens, a rights expert has warned.
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| June Kane |
June Kane, an independent adviser to the United Nations and national governments on child rights, told AFP the crisis was a chance for authorities in the region to tackle child labor by giving parents incentives to keep minors in education.
But she warned that authorities in Asia -- the biggest employer of the world's estimated 218 million child workers -- must act now to provide help to parents who might otherwise be forced to send their children out to work.
"I think this crisis gives us a real opportunity to tackle child labor and to stop more children going into child labor," said Kane in an interview on the sidelines of a UN conference about the impact of the global economic crisis on children.
"We can respond to the economic crisis, particularly amongst the poor and vulnerable families, by giving them incentives to send their children to school, whether they are cash incentives or feeding programs."
The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines child workers as those under 15.
While many of these children work in the agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors, some are lured into slavery and prostitution, while others are recruited into armed groups, Kane said.
Protecting vulnerable children during economic crises was a major theme at the two-day Singapore conference sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
UNICEF's top official in East Asia and the Pacific, Anupama Rao Singh, said the global recession could significantly raise infant mortality and malnutrition rates, and appealed to Asian governments not to cut back on social spending.
While research showing a direct link between economic crises and a rise in child labor remains scant, Kane said governments should implement measures now to curb any potential impact.
Only a "couple of million dollars" are needed to finance such incentives, Kane said, comparing this with the eight trillion dollars used by major economies to bail out ailing banks at the heart of the global financial crisis.
"Let's not think that automatically more children are going to go to work. We have an opportunity to actually stop that from happening."
Experts say child labor thrives in underground economies because employers can get away with paying underage workers less than their adult counterparts, and they are often hard to detect because they are illegal.
Consumer activism in the world's major economies, however, has helped check the problem as shoppers refuse to buy products made using child labor, Kane said.
She cautioned against "knee-jerk" reactions by governments to focus aid automatically on the poor, saying that middle class families were also affected by the current crisis.
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Vietnam: Bonded labor the fate of many children in the cities
Thanhniennews.com Jan 5, 2009
Teenagers are forced to work until midnight at a garment factory in Tan Phu District. According to the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs’ statistics in 2006, 758 children under 16 years old from 34 cities and province were handling
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| Teenagers are forced to work until midnight at a garment factory in Tan Phu District. According to the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs’ statistics in 2006, 758 children under 16 years old from 34 cities and province were handling |
At many factories in Ho Chi Minh City children barely in their teens work for 18 hours a day and receive a few million dong for the entire year.
Fourteen year old Nguyen Cong Khanh, who left his native Phuong Dien Village in the central region for HCMC six months ago, earns the princely sum of VND3 million (US$172) a year.
For this he works at a garment factory from 7:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next morning. On Sunday he and his colleagues, other teens, will work until the afternoon and receive VND10,000 ($0.57) to spend on extra food or other pastimes.
Figures compiled by the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in 2006 showed that 758 children under 16 years of age from 34 cities and provinces were doing heavy menial work around the city.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung, the department’s deputy director, says the real number would be higher and that the children often worked for an individual or household business.
Most of such workers are under 16, she adds.
Bus driver Nguyen Van Thap from northern Bac Ninh Province says on many journeys to the city, the bus is full of poor children looking for work.
Some parents are persuaded to take their children out of school to work, persuaded that they can enjoy a better life in the city.
Persuading parents is the job of brokers, who receive at least VND300,000 for each child they find.
Dieu of Phu Vang District in Thua Thien-Hue Province, convinced fellow native Tran Thi Luyen to send her son Tran Van Ky to HCMC to sell flowers.
“They will live in well-built houses, go to school for half a day and work during the other half,” Dieu promised. “They’ll get VND3 million and bus tickets home every year.”
But Ky quit after nine months, seeing nothing that his parents had been promised. He and other children had to stand through the night around pubs and restaurants.
They are beaten or starved if they sold fewer flowers than ordered to by their bosses who earn at least VND100,000 from the efforts of each child every night.
Typically there are no contracts between the parents and the brokers, but sometimes a piece of paper is signed, mentioning wages and how much the family will receive beforehand.
But when the children quit halfway or turn to other jobs, they will be accused of “breaking the contract” and won’t receive a single penny.
Driver Nguyen Minh Thanh of Hanoi is livid about the mean brokers, some of whom force two children to share one seat for several days.
“If I don’t accept to drive them they will call other buses,” Thanh says. “The poor children.”
Tran Van The of Thanh Hoa Province recalls he was fed with bread and salt during the journey to HCMC. Sometimes the children traveled alone, not knowing what would happen to them.
Hai, now a noodle vendor in District 10, says he escaped home to HCMC after finishing fifth grade.
In letters home, Hai wrote that he’d got a good job and a nice boss who treated him like a son.
The reality was much different. Working from afternoon to night, he has to sell at least 50 bowls each shift, or his wages of VND3.6 million a year would be cut.
The work stops at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. and Hai has to clean up all the utensils before sleeping. He’s allowed to eat the unsold noodles. Some nights, he is so hungry that he has to drink the leftovers from the bowls.
He asked to leave after six months but only received VND900,000 as wages for three months.
But what the noodle-vending children fear most are drug addicts or gangs, who won’t pay.
A month ago, 16-year-old Phi from Phu Yen Province got nothing from some drunkards for ten bowls of rice noodles.
Meanwhile, children selling lottery tickets face a high risk of being robbed, and they will have a month’s salary cut for every 100 tickets they lose.
Thai from Thanh Hoa Province once lost 300 tickets, and was also left bleeding by the violent robbers.
Each child is supposed to sell 200 tickets a day to receive up to VND500,000 a month from lottery ticket agents, who earn more than three times that amount.
A manager at a garment factory says she would have to pay higher wages if she hired people from HCMC. The factory of 40 square meters with around 10 sewing machines is only equipped with one fluorescent light.
Many bosses come from the same provinces as the children they hire, and defend themselves by lying that the children are their relatives or only apprentices.
Some even ask the parents to write a paper authorizing them “to take care” of the children.
They cut wages indirectly by raising the working time. The wages are paid at the year-end but usually not all at once. The boss will keep a small part until the next year so that the children cannot leave.
Ha Van Chau from Thua Thien-Hue had neck cancer after two years of working at a garment factory near the Binh Hung Hoa cemetery in Binh Tan District, where the environment is highly polluted.
Chau collapsed at work and two weeks after being sent home, he died.
Released at last
The Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in July last year fined 17 businesses found exploiting child labor VND115-million.
The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has ordered local authorities to stop the use of child labor in their areas but, according to the department’s deputy director Nhung, it would take time.
Local authorities should help the parents find ways to increase their living standards, she says.
One night on Pham Ngu Lao Street in District 1, a boss slapped a child because she took a few dong from selling flowers to call her mother at home.
At a garment factory in Binh Tan District, children sit at sewing machines for hours without looking up.
Ta Ngoc Van, member of the Hanoi-based Rong Xanh (Green Dragon) Charity Center, took note of this and undertook a journey to Thua ThienHue, the home province of most children being abused in HCMC.
He visited each child’s family and later designed a project to rescue the children and better their lives.
The province’s Red Cross and Phu Dien Commune authorities came with Van to HCMC last month and managed to bring many children home, but were attacked by some bosses.
But they cannot save all the children from other localities.
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Philippines: Global March Regional Coordinator receives Iqbal Masih Award from US Department of Labor
January 19, 2009
MANILA, Philippines -- Maria Cecilia Flores-Oebanda has been awarded the first Iqbal Masih award for her work towards the elimination of exploitative child labor, according to the United States Department of Labor.
Deputy Under secretary for International Affairs Charlotte M. Ponticelli said the US agency was giving this award to acknowledge Flores-Oebanda’s lifetime battle against the use of child domestic workers and the trafficking of women and children for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation in the Philippines and internationally.
Flores-Oebanda is currently the president and executive director of the Visayan Forum Foundation Inc. (VFF) in Quezon City.
"This award recognizes a true champion in the fight to end exploitive child labor," said Ponticelli in a statement. "Through her work, Ms. Flores-Oebanda has brought real change to the lives of thousands of children."
The Iqbal Masih Award was established by the US Congress to recognize the work of an individual, company, organization or national government to end the worst forms of child labor.
The award reflects the spirit of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani child enslaved at the age of four who escaped his servitude and became an outspoken advocate against child slavery, the statement said.
In 1995 at the age of 13 and a year after receiving the Reebok Human Rights Award, Iqbal was killed in Pakistan. His dedication to ending child slavery, however, continues to inspire individuals around the world.
Like Iqbal Masih, Flores-Oebanda was born into poverty. As a child, she helped to support her family by scavenging. Later as a teenager, she advocated for the rights of youth and farm laborers, the statement said.
Flores-Oebanda later founded and now leads the VFF, a non-governmental organization that has rescued and provided assistance to more than 32,000 victims and potential victims of trafficking.
The US agency said the VFF has helped to file more than 65 trafficking cases on behalf of more than 165 victims.
Flores-Oebanda serves as the Southeast Asia coordinator for the Global March Against Child Labor and is active with other significant events to support work against child and exploitive labor, it said.
Since 1995, the US Department of Labor (www.dol.gov/ilab) has supported efforts to combat exploitive child labor internationally. The agency has succeeded in rescuing more than 1.25 million children from exploitive child labor.
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Ghana: 2.4 Million Children in Worst Forms of Child Labor
Zambaga Rufai Saminu, Ghanian Chronicle
3 February 2009
THE elimination of child labor in cocoa growing communities worldwide has been a challenge to governments, and a source of worry to civil society organizations, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights activists.
In Ghana, the situation is not different, with the latest figures and statistics indicating that 2.4 million Ghanaian children were engaged in worst forms of child labor.
As a result of this statistics, the government of Ghana came out with a five-year program, which began in 2006, to drastically deal with the problem.
The team leader of the Support for Community Mobilization Project (SCMPP), one of the NGOs working in the Western Region to support the government eliminate child labor in the country, Mr. Gyapah Buah, who disclosed this at Daboase recently, attributed the situation to ignorance of the law.
For the stakeholder institutions to address these, he said, some activities have been going on in the affected areas through engagements, dialogue, and sensitization.
Through this, he said, the communities were able to develop their own action plans, to be implemented by the leaders, to ensure that the issue of child labor was seriously tackled. According to him, Nine Implementing Partners (IPs) had been selected in some of the cocoa growing districts in the Western Region, to work effectively to educate cocoa growing communities on the dangers of child labor.
These IPs include the Hope for Humanity and Save Life Foundation in New Edubiase, Community Development Consult Network (Codesult) in Asankragwa, Support for Community Mobilization Project/Program (SCMPP), as well as Help Advance Community Opportunity Goals (HACOG) in Daboase.
Others include the RECA in Wassa Akropong, Oasis of Love Foundation in Assin Fosu, as well as PROMAG in Sefwi Wiaso.
All these organizations, according to Mr. Buah, were helping with their various contributions to kick out the worst forms of child labor in six districts, identified in the Western and Central regions.
Buah told hundreds of students and stakeholders, who thronged the exhibition grounds this year that one of the responsibilities of the partners involved, was to sensitize district stakeholders to understand the consequences of child labor.
He said their work was to also commit the communities to understanding the consequences of child labor in the cocoa growing areas, with special reference to cocoa farmers, who were willing to abide by their advice, to take measures to address the problem of child labor.
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Ghana's children deserve better
The Ghanaian Times, January 9, 2009
When one talks about the abuse of child rights, bonded labor where children are forced to work under harmful working conditions for long periods in order to pay off their parents' debts easily comes to mind.
Early marriages, where girls at the tender age of 10 are forced into marriages to perform marital roles harmful to their best interests, is another example of child abuse.
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It is estimated that about 60 percent of children in Ghana, mostly below the age of 13 years, have their rights violated in one way or another through various abuses including streetism, trafficking, domestic servitude, commercial sexual exploitation, mining, quarrying and in agriculture. Although these manifestations of child abuse are seriously dealt with elsewhere, they are a daily affliction of some Ghanaian children.
In spite of taking pride in being the first nation to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is clear from the current state of child protection and development that Ghana is still a long distance away from making proper and adequate provisions for the development of her precious children.
It is on record that a good number of children are malnourished and a greater percentage of children of school going age are out of school. The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reports that over one million Ghanaian children of school going age are in child labor. Most of such children fall prey to the dreadful HIV/AIDS, while children in the war-torn areas suffer and live under hazardous conditions. Similarly, teachers in these war torn areas have abandon their posts to save their lives, thereby compelling the children to till the land for life.
Our children deserve a better deal. Like any other class of humans, they have a right to participate in matters that affect them; and our failure to involve them is a denial of this intrinsic right.
When the drive to participate is neither respected nor nurtured, and when the children are excluded or ignored by adults, their potential to contribute to their communities is compromised. Such children are likely to act as they have been treated and become social deviants.
The NPP government came out with a whole Ministry to address the needs and issues affecting children and women. The setting up of the Ministry is in the right direction, but the question one will ask is, how far has the Ministry reached in terms of its advocacy? Has there been enough sensitization and empowerment of these children and women?
Meanwhile, it has been observed that a good number of Ghanaians are ignorant about the fact that children have rights which should not be abused. If society is properly sensitized to realize that there are rights that have been enacted globally and that the violation of such rights would attract punishment by law, abuse of children would be minimized if not totally stopped.
Though the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Children is a very big achievement, there is the need to ensure that the constitutional provisions become operational for the children to benefit from them. It is regrettable to note that though there are laws against violation, children are abused on a daily basis.
Even though there had been concerted efforts at creating awareness about the Convention, many people seem to be oblivious of its content. We need specifics so that if the child is being abused by somebody, we must know what provision is there, and how it protects children. People must know these specifics so that they are held accountable for the abuses.
As the children are becoming aware of their rights and responsibilities, society should accord them the needed support to enable them grow into responsible adulthood. Every effort should be made to ensure that children are protected, given every opportunity to develop, and their God-given potentials tapped. As a nation, we should not forget that the children, who are denied education today; who are being abused, would become serious threats to society tomorrow. The development of any nation depends on how society protects and nurtures its children.
By their very position in society, children do not possess the means to champion their interests. Their direct voice is often not loud enough for adult ears or not attended when heard. It is therefore gracious for organizations such as the media and the various non-governmental organizations (NGO's) to seek the survival, protection and development of our children.
As the only English-speaking sub-Saharan country that has a National Child Rights Coalition, Ghana has the onerous responsibility to demonstrate this leadership in concrete ways to serve as example for others in the region.
The first ever Easter school that was mooted by the late Alfred Kofi Appiah, the then Executive Secretary of Child Rights International in 2003, aimed at building the capacity of children to articulate and discuss issues that border on their own survival and development. As the future leaders, they should have an input into the developmental agenda process.
There is therefore the need for a platform to be created by the Ministry where children's views could be incorporated in the policies. And the Easter school comes in handy for the views of children to be tapped into developing and shaping a policy that will give them a better future.
Children of school going age are on the streets hawking. For example, there were about 15,000 children as at the year 2003 on the street of Accra; out of this over 700 children below the age of 17 selling all kinds of things between the Airport traffic lights and Shangri-La hotel alone.
At the Kwame Nkrumah Circle-Kaneshie station, there were over 1,100 children below the age of 16 doing similar business.
Most of these children especially girls, have fallen victims to various forms of abuses, with sexual abuse being prominent. The get pregnant and give birth to a second generation of street children who have no knowledge of any cultural values and thereby pose a threat to society. A good number of these children have been involved in some forms of crimes. There are even prostitutes among them.
Commitment
The Ghana Statistical Service says there are an estimated 1,239,680 children in the agricultural sector, namely farming, fishing and forestry. This is disturbing especially because Ghana has ratified the International Labor Organization's Convention on Worst Forms of Child Labor as an International demonstration of its commitment to arrest the involvement of children in work that is hazardous to their wellbeing.
Although the vast majority of children working in the agricultural sector are not in activities that can be regarded as the worst form of child labor, some do carry out dangerous work using primitive equipments such as the hoe, cutlass, spade and knife. Moreover, most children work without protective gear and are thus exposed to cuts, snake and insect bites, etc. The health of these children is negatively affected with all kinds of infections, diseases and even death.
The Most Rev. Philip Naameh, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Damongo recently drew the attention of Ghanaians to what he termed as the emergence of “second generation of street children”, referring to street children who have given birth to children and are raising them on the street. He warned that until something concrete was done about these children, moral decadence, violence and crime in the Ghanaian society was likely to exacerbate.
He said that unlike their parents, the second generation of street children have no defined cultural heritage or background except the culture of the 'survival of the fittest'. This is because they only learn of violence, cheating, armed robbery and illicit business like the drug trade so they can survive. He said they lack the opportunity to learn cultural values like discipline, hard work, love and respect, which are needed in every stable and civilised society.
The situation where abused children are unable to provide medical report to support their cases for prosecution is also serious. There have been complaints from a good number of victims that they are unable to continue their cases in court because of financial constraints, which enable the perpetrators to go off the hook.
Bills
The Ministries of Health and Women and Children's Affairs, as well as the Ghana Medical Association should look into the issue by exempting victims from paying for the examinations before medical reports are released to enable the police arraign suspects before the courts. This will allow victims to come forward always with their complaints.
There is therefore the need for government to support such child victims, especially those who can not genuinely afford to pay for such bills.
By Innocent Samuel Appiah
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Buying Fake Purses is Child Abuse
January 10, 2009
Buying fake goods is NOT harmless. In fact, it's a crime.
In her book "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster" writer Dana Thomas wrote "I remember walking into an assembly plant in Thailand a couple of years ago and seeing six or seven little children, all under 10 years old, sitting on the floor assembling counterfeit leather handbags. An investigator told me ... 'The owners had broken the children's legs and tied the lower leg to the thigh so the bones wouldn't mend. [They] did it because the children said they wanted to go outside and play.'"
The truth behind counterfeit products is a startling one many of us don't know. Fake products don't just come in the form of a faux Louis Vuitton purse or a Rolex watch. It's also baby formula, medicine and food. Making and importing these items wreaks havoc on humanity, with such side effects as child labor, U.S. job loss (750,000 this year alone) and even supporting terrorism.
Though there has been a major crackdown on counterfeit operations recently, counterfeiters are finding ways around new laws. What we can do is NOT buy them -- they're just not worth it (and they're kind of cheesy anyway). Here's how to spot one:
1. The price -- If it's too good to be true it's probably not real.
2. Details -- If something doesn't look right, the stitching is crooked, or the zipper looks cheap, it probably isn't authentic.
3. Signature Marks -- Some designers stamp a serial number, others do a date on the item. Find out your designer's signature marks and see if the bag has one.
4. Check the logo -- Counterfeiters sometimes alter the logo slightly. For example, a fake Lacoste item may have the crocodile facing left instead of right.
5. Vintage Stores -- Although vintage retailers are more aware, they still cannot guarantee authenticity. It's the consumer's responsibility to find the fakes.
6. Still confused? Visit www.myauthentics.com for more guidance.
Source: Momlogic
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Cameroon: Kumbo, Wum, Bali Identified as Vulnerable to Child Trafficking
Jeff Ngawe Yufenyu, allAfrica.com, 9 February 2009
The Regional Bureau of the International Labor Office for Central Africa based in Yaounde, has identified Kumbo, Wum and Bali of the Northwest Region, as most vulnerable to child trafficking in Cameroon.
This was revealed in a workshop the officials of the Regional Bureau had with journalists in Bamenda, February 5. The Technical Adviser at the Regional Bureau of the International Labor office for Central Africa, El Housseynou Ly, told journalists that due to the vulnerability of the three communities, a project known as the Technical Cooperation Resource Allocation Mechanism, TC-RAM projects, was conceived.
According to Housseynou, the TC-RAM project, which is financed by the government of the Netherlands to last until March 31, 2010, is aimed at reducing poverty within communities vulnerable to child trafficking through the promotion of decent work. He added that there are nine of such projects around the world.
In her presentation at the workshop, the national expert in the fight against child labor, Evelyn Ndipondjou, said the project will work closely with the councils of Kumbo, Wum and Bali. She said the project, which has already taken off, has three specific themes which include the fight against child labor, local economic development and development of Mbororo communities in the three councils.
Other multidisciplinary themes of the project, according to Ndipondjou, are gender, HIV/AIDS, environment, good governance and food security. Ndipondjou said beneficiaries of the project include executive and municipal technical services within target councils, families which are victims of or vulnerable to poverty and child trafficking, especially indigenous peoples and tribes, and partners involved in the execution of the project such as NGOs, consultancy firms and professional institutions etc.
Some f the project activities, going by Evelyne Ndipondjou, include formulating and producing a directory of the economic potentials and business opportunities within each target locality; formulating training modules on child trafficking, organizing training of trainers workshops; carrying out advocacy and sensitization on child trafficking in primary schools and supporting councils in formulating development plans.
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